All posts tagged u.s.

A new study estimates that harmonizing auto regulations on both sides of the Atlantic would boost auto trade by at least 20%, and lead to a $20 billion a year gain for Europe and the U.S. together in the long run—with three-quarters of that falling to the EU.

It is one of the prizes being pursued by EU and U.S. officials in Brussels this week, where they are locked in a tenth round of negotiations toward a free trade agreement known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. Read More »

Now the same issue is creating problems in another deal that was meant to be more or less done: the free-trade agreement between the EU and Canada.

At a meeting of trade-policy officials from EU countries Friday, Germany raised concerns over the deal’s provisions on the so-called “investor state dispute settlement,” according to several European officials. ISDS would allow foreign investors from either side to challenge potentially unfair treatment of by their investment’s host government. Crucially, these challenges would take place in special tribunals that lie, to varying extents, outside the country’s own legal system. Read More »

“Idiotic,” was Wolfgang Schäuble’s verdict about alleged U.S. efforts to spy on Germany. “So much stupidity makes one want to cry.”

The comments by the famously outspoken finance minister were among the most polite that could be heard in Berlin since Germany’s federal prosecutor detained a 31-year-old junior German intelligence worker last week on suspicion of selling information to the U.S.

The outrage swelled further on Wednesday after the State Prosecutor’s office said it had searched the office and home of a second government official suspected of spying for a foreign power. The deafening silence from Washington has only fanned the flames. Read More »

Let’s face it, no one thought reaching a final deal on Iran’s nuclear program would be easy.

No one expected that Iran and the six major powers would at this stage be steadily closing gaps on a final deal in a clockwork-like, predictable fashion. It was always obvious that the toughest choices would be left until late, that significant gaps would remain until close to the July 20 deadline and that the public rhetoric may well get pointed, if not heated, as the negotiations reached crunch point.

In that sense, it would be foolish to draw any sweeping conclusions from this week’s events or to see any writing on any walls. Nonetheless, what has happened over the past 72 hours is, at least, noteworthy. Read More »

Although he no longer sits at the negotiating table, Robert Einhorn’s views still echo in the nuclear talks between Iran and six major powers.

Until a year ago, Mr. Einhorn was the U.S. State Department’s special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, making him one of the Obama administration’s point men at the negotiations.

Mr. Einhorn’s March paper on the requirements for a nuclear deal was widely read and seen by many to at least partly reflect the administration’s view of what an acceptable deal could entail. Its suggestion that Iran must reduce its stockpile of centrifuges for enriching uranium to between 2,000 and 6,000 caused some rancor among Iranian officials, who grumbled at the time that the U.S. appeared to be using back-channels to set out public demands. Read More »

As the clock ticks down on the July 20 target date for sealing a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran, there is growing focus on the willingness of the two key players – Tehran and Washington – to make compromises needed to cut a deal.

Yes, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is chief negotiator for the six countries that negotiate with Iran and plays a significant coordination role with Iran. And yes, any deal resolving the conflict over Iran’s nuclear ambitions must be signed off by all six countries, which include France, Britain and Germany as well as the U.S., Russia and China.

But for many observers, Europe is a serious but marginal player in the efforts to strike an agreement.

In a report due to be published on Tuesday, Ellie Geranmayeh, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, seeks to redress that. Read More »

The U.S. has made no secret of its determination to strictly enforce the remaining energy and banking sanctions on Iran, actively discouraging European companies from rushing to do business with Tehran following November’s nuclear deal.

Yet there was a fresh acknowledgement Monday by a senior U.S. official that the Obama administration still had real concerns about the issue. Read More »

Belgium is small – about the size of Maryland – but densely packed with railway lines, breweries and quirky little towns. Belgians may not share a language, landscape or even be part of the same country forever, but now they all have one thing in common – a visit from outgoing U.S. Ambassador Howard Gutman.

Mr. Gutman has undertaken an epic tour of Belgium, visiting every single one of the country’s 589 communes, or towns, in his time as office. Last weekend, he made it to Voeren/Fourons, the last place on his itinerary, before hosting a reception for every single one of the country’s mayors, and Belgian PM Elio di Rupo. Read More »

The European Union has been the target of a bit of a charm offensive from Washington just as Brussels is in the middle of overhauling of its data-protection rules.

U.S. interest in this wide-ranging piece of legislation, which would introduce antitrust-style fines for those who play fast and loose with Europeans’ data, is hardly surprising: Because they are set to apply to all companies operating in Europe and target online information, EU data rules will have an impact on what happens on the other side of the Atlantic.

About Real Time Brussels

The Wall Street Journal’s Brussels blog is produced by the Brussels bureau of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. The bureau has been headed since 2009 by Stephen Fidler, who was previously a correspondent and editor for the Financial Times and Reuters. Also posting regularly: Matthew Dalton, Viktoria Dendrinou, Tom Fairless, Naftali Bendavid, Laurence Norman, Gabriele Steinhauser and Valentina Pop.